S. African Leader's Cabinet Resigns

JOHANNESBURG, Sept. 23 -- The office of ousted South African President Thabo Mbeki announced Tuesday that his deputy president, 10 cabinet ministers and three deputy ministers were resigning, an exodus that sent tremors through the markets of Africa's biggest economy and stoked fears of a political crisis.

Most worries were mitigated by afternoon, when the ruling African National Congress announced that several of those who had quit -- including Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, who is viewed as a rudder of South Africa's steady economy -- did so as a formality and were willing to serve under an interim president to be sworn in Thursday.

The assurances caused the South African rand and stock market to rebound from the drop that had followed the announcement that one-third of the cabinet was leaving. But the resignations underscored the deep schism within the ANC, which this weekend asked Mbeki to resign after a court ruling suggested he had plotted to have his rival, ANC leader Jacob Zuma, charged with corruption.

The ANC had said it was trying to persuade all cabinet members to stay on. Nine of 10 of the ministers who tendered resignations are ANC members, most viewed as loyal to Mbeki.

At a hastily called news conference Tuesday, ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe insisted that the resignations would not provoke a crisis and that "the process of governance will continue as normal."

Mantashe said that Manuel, three other ministers and three deputy ministers who had resigned wanted to let the interim president appoint a cabinet but would resume their work if asked. The deputy president and five other ministers -- whose portfolios include defense and public enterprises -- indicated that their departures were final, he said. The situation of the remaining minister, who oversees science and technology, was subject to discussion, he said.

"There's no crisis," Mantashe said. "We're ready to fill any position that arises."

The departures came a day after ANC leaders indicated, but did not formally announce, that the party's deputy president, Kgalema Motlanthe, would take over as interim president Thursday.

Motlanthe, a left-leaning former union leader and political prisoner, is viewed as loyal to Zuma, who defeated Mbeki for the party leadership in December and is expected to win the presidency in national elections next year. But Motlanthe, who is a cabinet minister without portfolio, is also viewed as moderate, reasonable and capable of soothing party divisions.

Opposition parties praised the choice. Zuma, speaking to reporters Monday, said Motlanthe was "equal to the task."

"It should be borne in mind that comrade Mbeki led an ANC government," Zuma said. "We therefore expect a smooth transition, as this is not a change of party but only leadership in government."

Some of the cabinet resignations were expected, and economists and political analysts generally agreed that the departures would not create havoc. But some questioned the manner in which the news was announced -- by the deposed president's office, not the party.

"There has been a very ham-handed management of this situation," said Judith February, an analyst at the Institute for Democracy in South Africa. "What we need is certainty, and we need the ANC to come out and provide clarity on the process. . . . It has largely been reactive."

Among those raising doubts about the nation's stability this week was revered Archbishop Desmond Tutu. At a news conference in Cape Town on Monday, the Nobel Peace Prize winner slammed the process by which the ANC ousted Mbeki, describing it as "good, old-fashioned tit for tat."

"Our country deserves better," Tutu said. "The way of retribution leads to a banana republic."